Jiuxi

Chapter 296 Chapter 294 [Enter the game personally]

The Huaizhou cavalry came and went in a hurry, and the Heluo city defense was not under any threat, but there was an undercurrent in the city that made people panic.

Under the city tower to the east, Mou Lianghu's eyes were stern and he said in a deep voice: "Your Highness, the general has already sent people to Dongyang Road to report to the young prince. He has also sent orders to Moyang Road and Jiangbei Road to mobilize troops for reinforcements."

Beside him, Qing Yu Huaijin looked at the distant sky in the east, with a sneer on his fair cheeks: "The Yan army is unreliable, and there is no point in expecting them to fight the Huaizhou army in the wild. General, the enemy's strength is only five at most." It's about ten thousand, so it's not difficult for your subordinates to defend the city, but they still dare to approach Heluo, which shows that Lu Chen must have some trump cards."

There was obviously nothing wrong with her analysis, but it was not that easy to guess Lu Chen's trump card.

Mou Lianghu frowned and said, "I don't know what secret this person is hiding, but please rest assured, Your Highness, I will have the confidence to keep Heluo safe."

"I believe in the general's ability. It is also based on this consideration that my brother asked you to stay and preside over the overall situation. I don't know the ways of city defense and will not dictate the general's decision. I will try my best to control the situation in the city and provide backup for the general. support."

Qingyu Huaijin's self-confidence was obviously completely shaken by the disastrous defeat in the Battle of Leize, but her attitude was the best for the wise tiger, so she quickly lowered her head and said: "Thank you for your high regard, I will do my best in the end. "

"Then thank you General."

Qingyu Huaijin nodded slightly, and then took one last look to the east. The figures of the Huaizhou cavalry had disappeared for a long time, leaving only a lonely vast land.

Back at Zhuoyuan, Qingyu Huaijin only sat there for a moment before two people came together.

One is her confidant who follows Xiao Jun. Now she has placed this person in the Procuratorate, mainly responsible for supervising internal officials and gathering intelligence. The other one is Wang Shidao, the official of the Procuratorate. Although he controls more than half of the power of the Procuratorate, he is still under the supervision of Xiao Jun.

After letting the two people sit down, Qingyu Huaijin first looked at Xiao Jun and asked: "Is there anything abnormal in the city these days?"

Xiao Jun replied: "Returning to your highness, the Southern Qi Huaizhou Army's attack on Yaoshan Pass has indeed made the people in the city unstable, but there has been no obvious commotion yet, and there are no weird things happening in some key places, and it is generally calm.

Wang Shidao took the opportunity to take over the conversation: "What Commander Xiao said is absolutely true. In fact, Your Highness does not need to worry too much. It will be easy for General Tiger and his soldiers to defend the city. As long as there are no problems with the city's defense, there will be no chaos in the city."

Qingyu Huaijin asked calmly: "In that case, why is Lu Chen so stubborn in attacking Heluo? With the troops in his hands, he wants to attack this place. No matter how you look at it, it is a manifestation of whim."

Wang Shidao pondered: "Perhaps it's because he has learned that the young prince is leading troops to Dongyang Road. In a short period of time, he has the advantage in strength, and if Dajing's army does not leave the city, no one around can threaten him."

"In other words, he led the army just to show off his power under Heluo City?"

Qingyu Huaijin frowned with a touch of sarcasm.

Wang Shidao did not rush to defend, but said slowly: "Your Highness, in my opinion, this may not be a possibility."

Qingyu Huaijin had mixed feelings about this middle-aged man.

When she was in the Jing Dynasty, she heard some stories about Wang Shidao and knew that this man was a rare and capable official in the officialdom of Yan State.

From ten years ago to three years ago, Wang Shidao led the Procuratorate and the Southern Qi Sutra Weaving Department back and forth, and gained several advantages, thereby establishing his position in the Yan Kingdom's court.

However, when Qingyu Huaijin began to take over the affairs here, Wang Shidao gave her the feeling that he was always one step behind. Whether it was cooperating with Dongyang Road to seize Panlong Pass in the Southern Qi Dynasty the year before last, or his performance in the subsequent war, the chief of the Procuratorate was The official did not show his former grace.

Whether it was because he was too old or too powerful, or because the enemies he faced were too powerful, Wang Shili should have done better.

Qingyu Huaijin still hoped that he could sweep away the decline, so he did not deprive him of his authority, but only arranged some informants around him.

Seeing him refute his opinion at this moment, Qingyu Huaijin nodded and said: "Let's talk and listen."

Wang Shidao responded: "Your Highness, there are obvious differences in the Southern Qi Dynasty, and there are not many people who firmly support the Northern Expedition. Xiao Wangzhi and Lu Chen obviously saw through this, so they wanted to prove to the south that the Huaizhou Army had the strength to capture Heluo , it just needs more support from the Southern Qi court."

He paused slightly and continued: "Lu Chen has achieved at least half of his goal so far. Next, he should launch an attack on Heluo, but he will definitely not use all his strength."

"It makes some sense."

Qingyu Huaijin raised his hand and pinched his eyebrows, changed the subject and asked, "How is the situation in the palace recently?"

"In the palace?" Wang Shidao was startled, and then said with a wry smile: "It's still the same. Your Majesty is either drinking or resting in bed."

Qingyu Huaijin originally just asked casually, and warned: "No matter what Lu Chen's trump card is, it is inseparable from the word "neiying". Mr. Wang, you have to work harder these days, and at the same time, please cheer up the people below. It’s hard to keep a close eye on them, especially ordinary people are not allowed to get close to the city defense area.”

"Yes, I will cooperate and supervise with my colleagues in the DPRK and China, and I will definitely not let down the trust of the young prince and His Highness."

Wang Shidao bowed and bowed respectfully.

Qingyu Huaijin stood up and said goodbye to each other, his eyes stayed on Wang Shidao's back until he disappeared from sight, and said to himself: "Could Wang Shidao be Lu Chen's trump card?"

Although the tone was soft, Xiao Jun standing next to him heard it clearly and couldn't help but said in surprise: "Your Highness, how could Wang Shizheng be so unwise?"

Qingyu Huaijin narrowed his eyes slightly, and Wang Shidao's life appeared in his mind, and he said for a long time: "Judging from his past experience, there is really no need for him to work for Nan Qi. Seven years ago, he was the one who destroyed Xiao Wangzhi's long-planned plan. The strategy of surprise attack on Yongquan Pass. Five years ago, he was also the one who followed the clues in Heluo City and captured more than 30 craftsmen of the Southern Qi Weaving Department. These people have been executed. Even if he is obsessed with power, Southern Qi cannot give it. What guarantee can he give, not to mention that he still has so much Qi Ren's blood on his hands, but..." She turned around and walked forward slowly, saying as she walked: "We still have to be more cautious and let people continue to watch him carefully. In addition, People in the city such as the Wang family, the Pang family, the Yu family, etc. cannot relax their vigilance during this period. I want each of them to record their daily actions, who they met and what they did."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Xiao Jun bowed in response and said smoothly: "I just received the news. Emperor Yan summoned the Prime Minister and Privy Pang to the palace today."

"understood."

Qingyu Huaijin said calmly: "Go and find out what they talked about."

"Yes."

……

In a corner of the palace, there is a pavilion in spring.

Emperor Yan Zhang Can stood by the railing with his hands behind his hands, looking at the decaying scene in the pool, his face uncharacteristically devoid of alcohol.

Prime Minister Wang An and Privy Councilor Pang Shigu stood a little further behind, while a group of palace people were waiting outside the pavilion.

"The Southern Qi Luchen is approaching fiercely. I want to know if Heluo can be defended?"

Zhang Can's voice was slightly heavy.

Pang Shigu responded: "Your Majesty, the Heluo city wall is towering and solid, and the facilities are complete. There are more than 20,000 troops in the city. The Huaizhou army has no hope of winning. Please relax, Your Majesty."

"I heard that this Lu Chen is extremely cunning, and Prince Qingyu has taken away all the cavalry. I'm afraid the situation is not as optimistic as the Privy Council said, right?"

Zhang Can turned around, his eyes full of suspicion.

Pang Shigu felt a little impatient, but since Jing Chao did not agree, he could only be a minister of the Yan State. Naturally, he had to maintain open respect for the emperor, so he lowered his eyes and said: "Your Majesty, there is a saying in the art of war. Then encircle it, attack it if it is five times, and fight it if it is doubled. The enemy army outside the city is only about 50,000 people. It cannot even surround Heluo on all sides. How can we talk about continuously attacking the city? If it is not considered that His Majesty's If it is safe, the elite troops of Jing Dynasty can go out of the city to fight the enemy."

Zhang Can sneered secretly and said with worry on his face: "This is abnormal. Judging from Lu Chen's past achievements, he is not the kind of rash and reckless character. Now he dares to invade Heluo with only 50,000 people in his hands. , which shows that he must have a back-up plan.”

Pang Shigu was a little surprised. He didn't expect that this drunken emperor didn't drink his brain badly. He thought for a while and said: "Your Majesty, Princess Yongping and General Moulianghu have sent a message to the young prince Qingyu. As long as the young prince brings him If we return with the cavalry, the crisis in Heluo will be resolved, and it won't take long, so there won't be much pressure on the defenders in the city."

"Having said that, I feel uneasy."

Zhang Can sighed and said slowly: "I plan to hold a court meeting so that all officials can work together to think of countermeasures, which may provide some help to the soldiers guarding the city. In addition, I would like to take this opportunity to call on all officials and the people in the city to Wealthy businessmen donated their salary and silver to reward and reward the defending soldiers. Dear sirs, what do you think?"

Pang Shigu vaguely felt that this was the puppet emperor in front of him who was just having fun. Although he didn't take it too seriously, he still said respectfully: "Your Majesty, I have no objection."

Wang An also stated this.

Zhang Can added: "There is one more thing. I would like to invite Princess Yongping to come to the court to observe. On the one hand, I want her to feel the gratitude of the Great Yan Dynasty to Jing Jun, so that Jing Jun can defend the city more attentively. On the other hand, I want to let her feel the gratitude of the Great Yan Dynasty to Jing Jun, so that Jing Jun can guard the city more attentively. On the other hand, I want to invite Princess Yongping to visit the court." On the one hand, I also want to ask her to show her face, which will definitely appease people's hearts and prevent some people from being upset because of the enemy troops outside the city."

Pang Shigu's expression changed slightly. He didn't expect that the emperor could come up with such a way to get the best of both worlds.

After thinking for a moment, he couldn't help but become more and more eager, because this was an excellent opportunity for the Jing Dynasty's powerful people to come to the stage openly, and it could lay the foundation for subsequent successful actions.

When he thought of this, Pang Shigu couldn't help but praise: "Your Majesty is wise!"

The complex light in Zhang Can's eyes flashed away, and then he hesitated and said: "It's just that Princess Yongping has a special status. It's not appropriate for me to directly issue an order to summon her into the palace..."

"I am willing to share your Majesty's worries and go to Zhuoyuan in person to invite Princess Yongping."

Wang An looked calm and bowed.

Pang Shigu couldn't help but feel a little pity that this guy had taken the lead, but they were grasshoppers on the same rope, and it was not easy to openly fight at this moment.

Zhang Can looked at the completely different reactions of the two people and thought that they were actually the civil and military leaders of the Yan Kingdom. He immediately felt a burning anger rushing straight to his forehead, and the hesitation and hesitation he had just moments ago disappeared without a trace.

He tried his best to force out a gentle smile and praised: "Then I would like to ask you, King Xiang, to run for me."

Wang An responded calmly: "Your Majesty, this is the duty of a humble minister."

He straightened up and dusted his sleeves.

As if to dust off a trace of the world.

(End of this chapter)